Consultants brief Oakdale council on 20-year Stanco regional transportation plan

Michael Schmidt of Kimley Horn and Associates presented an overview of the Stanco Regional Transportation Plan update to the Oakdale City Council, describing a 20-year, multimodal plan through 2049 and a scenario-based approach to prioritize regional projects.

"The regional transportation plan ... reflects the shared vision of cities and the county for transportation and land use for the next 20 years," Schmidt said, and added the plan is intended to be fiscally constrained and to support federal and state air-quality goals. He told the council the plan includes all modes — biking, walking, driving and aviation — and said the plan's budget context was "about eight billion dollars" over the 20-year horizon as presented to the council.

The consultant said the plan relies on a demographer's forecast and scenario analysis; he cited an Oakdale-specific forecast of about 625 new homes, roughly 1,800 additional residents and about 700 new jobs over the plan horizon. Schmidt described four draft land-use scenarios under consideration (including a business-as-usual scenario, a transit-oriented mixed-use scenario, a jobs-focused scenario and a scenario with increased accessory dwelling units) and said the scenario choice helps shape where to prioritize bicycle, transit and roadway investments.

Schmidt highlighted three focused pieces of work alongside the RTP: a community enhancement toolkit aimed at increasing middle/missing-middle housing, VMT (vehicle miles traveled) mitigation strategies to aid compliance with state greenhouse-gas targets, and a refresh of the county non-motorized (bike/pedestrian) plan. He also described outreach activities planned or underway, including steering committee briefings, city and county staff meetings, focus groups, pop-up events and an interactive website with a survey and mapping tools. He said staff expect to ask the board to select a preferred scenario, open public comment through August, and complete plan work in the coming months as presented.

Council members asked how the RTP accounts for project phases and funding; Schmidt said Stanco will prioritize projects as funding becomes available and reiterated that funding sources include federal and state dollars plus county measures, and that Stanco's role is to allocate those dollars regionally. When asked about congestion and drive-time within city limits, he said the RTP is high-level and emphasizes providing transportation choices and regional connections while detailed local design remains the responsibility of cities and the county.

A council member asked specifically about the bypass connecting Oakdale and Modesta; Schmidt said he did not have the project dates on hand and would coordinate with Stanco to provide accurate timing.

The presentation concluded with an invitation to public engagement; no public comments on the RTP were recorded at the meeting. The council did not take formal action on the RTP at this session; the consultant said the next steps include continued outreach and a request that the board select a preferred scenario.